Fan



Aug. 28, 1928.

1,682,044 H. G. HERION FAN Filed Feb. 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Zia/- ff/er1' on aucune Aug. 28, 1928.

1,682,044 H. G. HERION v FAN Filed Feb. 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 28, 1928.-

;UNI'TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HEINRICH G. HERION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FAN.

Application filed February 14, 1928. Serial No. 254,278,

This invention relates to fans of that type in which a plurality of fan bla-des are mechanically revolved by the hand of the user, and the general object of the invention is to provide afan of this type which is extremely compact, which is of an ornamental form, and which is effective in construction.` a

A further object is to provide a fan of this type which has a plurality of blades mounted for rotation around an axis, and reciprocating means for giving a continuous rotation to thefblades, and provide means for translating this reciprocating motion into rotary motion of the blades which shall be noiseless. A still further object is to provide a device of this character having a supporting body .or handle which encloses the mechanism whereby the fan is driven and which handle has the form of an aeroplane.

Another object is to provide a device of this character with parts which are held for rectilinear movement and against any side movement and in which the blades are so mounted that they may be folded up when not in use but Ywill immediately, upon an .actuation of the fan, be projected into a radial direction. n

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description. My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is aplan view of afan constructed vin accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof; Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view ofv the fan;

Figure t is a section on the line 4 4 of `and means for operating the adjacent blade;

Figure 7 is a reverse view to Figure 6, the barrel being in section;

Figure 8 is a sectional view through the l clutch Figure 9 is an under side face view of the .supporting and guiding plate;

` Figure 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of Y Figure 4;

Referring to these drawings, and particu- `larly to Figures 3 and 9, it will be seen that for the body ofthe fan I have provided a casing having the general form of an aero! v plane fuselage, the casing consisting of two sections 10 and 11, these two sections being connected to each other in any suitable manner and being made of any suitable material as, for instance, silver, celluloid or the like. These two sections are supported upon a frame comprising the longitudinally extending plate 12, which at one end is provided with the disk 13 having centrally and forwardly projected anges 14 and a disk 15 having like flanges, these disks acting as a support for the two sections 10 and 11, as -will be obvious from Figure 3.

The plate 12 constitutes a support for the mechanism to be hereafter described and also a guide for a reciproca-ting rack. To this end, the plate 12 has upwardly and inwardly extended guide flanges 16, as shown in Figure 10, and is also formed with a longitudinally extending slot 17. Operating within these guide flanges is a slide 18 having two longitudinally extending bars 19 and 20, the bar 19 beingformed upon it-s inner edge face with rack teeth 21 and this bar at its extremity Vbeing also provided -with a downwardly extending pin 22 which is designed to operate within the slot 17, the two bars 19 and 20 operating within the guide flanges 16A so that this slide is guided for rectangular movement. The head of the slide 18 is rovided with the longitudinally exten ing stem 23 terminating in a head 24.' This stem 23 extends out through the rea-r end of the aeroplane body formed of the portions 10 and 11, and by pressure against this stem the rack may be forced inward.

Mounted upon an arbor orv shaft 25, which at its lower end extends through the plate 12 and at its upper end extends through a plate 26 supported by tubular posts 27, is a pinion 28 with which the rack 21 is adapted to engage. Engaged with the shaft below the pinion is a spiral spring 29, which at one end I counter-clockwise direction and thisywill wind up on the spring 29 and when pressure is released upon thestem 23, the spring will cause a reverse movement of the rack and of the stem.

Mounted upon an arbor or shaft 31 is a pinion 32, this shaft 31 being supported in suitable bearings in the plates 12 and 26. This shaft 31 carries the fan blades, as will be later described. Meshing withl the pinion 32 is a gear wheel 33 (see Figure 3)V which is loosely mounted upon the shaft or arbor 25. Thus the gear wheel 33 is rotated with the shaft when the shaft-.25 moves in a counter-clockwise direction, but the shaft25 moves freely with relation to the gear-wheel 33 in the opposite direction. To this end, I mount upon the arbor 25 the tri-lobed cam 36, each lobe of the cam being formed with the outwardly and forwardly curved edge 37.r The gear wheel 33 is formed upon one lface with a circular recess 38 within which the cam is disposed. The base 39 of the cam extends entirely across the circular recess so vas to cover in the stem. Disposed between the edge or perimeter of the tri-lobed cam ,and the wall 38 are three circular disks 40.

It will be seen that-this construction provides a friction pawl construction and that when the cam moves in a counter-clockwise l direction the spiral edges 37 of the cam will engage against the disks 40 and jam these disks into contact with the recess, thus causing the gear wheel 33 to rotate with the cam and with the shaft 25. Upon a movement in the opposite direction, however, the disks A. y40 will rotate loosely or will free themselves from their frictional engagement with the cam and gear wheel and, therefore, the gear wheel will be operatively disconnected from the shaft or arbor 25. Thus upon a forward movement of the plunger or stem 23, the

' gear wheel 33 willbe rotatedin a counterclockwise direct-ion but upon a rearward movement of the stem the gear wheel and the v, fan blades will all be allowed to rotate freely.

The particular virtue and advantage of the clutch connection which I have illustrated consisting of the tri-lobed cam and the circular disks is that this mechanism is silent and there :is no clicking noise which would be the case were a pawl and ratchet mechanisin used for this purposevinstead of a friction clutch.l Mounted upon the shaft 3l is a barrel 4l which rotates with the shaft..

`Opposite -ends of the barrel are screw-threaded for engagement by the washers`42 and 43, and loosely mounted upon the barrel for free movement therearound are the fan blades 44 and 45. Also mounted upon the barrel adjacent one end thereofA is the fan blade 46. rIhis fan blade is engaged with the disk or washer 42 and this disk or washer is formed with a slot 47 extending oney third ofthe circumference of the washer or two-thirds of the circumference of the washer, the washer43, of course, operating with the barrel.

Each of the blades, as shown in Figure 1,

l.to the portion 5l. The side edge of the por- -tion 5l is approximately radial to the barrel 4l and the side edge of the portion 52 is also radial so thateach blade has a triangular form, the outer end edge of the blade being inclined to the longitudinal axis of the blade.

It will be seen that with this construction, when the stein 23 is forced inward the shaft 3l will be rotated, which will rotate the barrel 4l, and that the several blades will be thrown to an open position or radial position with reference to each other, and that as the stem 23 moves back again under the action of the spring 29, the blades will rotate in a clockwise direction by reason of the impetus given to the blades by the forward stroke of the rack. Obviously, under these circumstances the rack bar may be reciprocated as fast as the user desires and thus any desired speed be given to the fan blades. When it is not desired to use the device, the fan blades may be folded up in an overlying condition and the device placed within a oase or within a pocket or bag.

It will be seen that this device is very compact, that it'may be readily operated, that the handle has a more or less ornamental form which is in harmony with the purpose of the device, and lthat Ik have lprovided a simple, convenient andvery portable mechanical fan which is very effective for the purpose intended. This fan is noiseless and is particularly advantageous for use in assemblies as, for instance, at concerts and other places where fans whose operation causes a clickingl noise or rustling noise would be unpleasant to others.

I claim l. A fan of the character described including a` body, a shaft operatively supported within the body and carrying a pinion, a reciprocable rack mounted upon the body and having teeth engaging said pinion and having a stemy extending out beyond the body whereby the ra-ck may be reciprocated, a spring resisting movement of the rack in one direction and resiliently urging it in the opposite direction, a second shaft ,having fan blades thereon, a gear wheel loosely mounted upon the first named shaft and operatively engaging the second named shaft to rotate it, a friction clutch between the first named shaft and the gear wheel comprising a cam having a. plurality of lobes, each lobe having a curved edge face, the gear wheel being recessed for the reception of said eccentric, and circular members mounted within said recess and disposed between the curved edges of the lobes and the outer wall of the recess, said clutch being operative upon an inward movement of the stein to clutch the shaft to the gear wheel but become inoperative upon an outward movement of the stem.

2. A fan of the character described including a body, a fan shaft mounted thereon, means carried by the bod for rotating the shaft continuously in one direction, a plurality of fan blades, each having a central portion surrounding the shaft, one of said blades being mounted upon the shaft for rotation therewith, the other blades being loosely mounted upon the shaft, disks mounted upon the shaft, each of said disks having a circumferentially ext-ending slot, the slots being of different lengths and each of said loosely mounted blades having a pin extending into the slot of one of said disks, the blades being capable ofswinging into position one above the other or into a radial position.

3. A mechanical fan of the character described comprising a hollow body, a supporting plate mounted within the hollow body and having disks at its ends to which the hollow body is attached and by which it is supported, a second plate mounted .above the first named plate, the first named plate being formed with inwardly turned flanges constituting guideways, a longitudinally extending slot, a slide mounted within said flanges and having two legs, one of said legs being formed upon its inner edge face with rack teeth .and one of said legs having a pin extending through said slot and guided thereby, said slide having a stem extending out through the rear end of the body whereby the slide may be operated, a shaft mounted in said plates and having a pinion with which the teeth engage, the shaft carryi'ng a gear wheel loose thereon, a spring elastically resisting the rotation of the shaft in one direction when the stem is forced inward and urging the shaft in the other direction when the stem is released, a second shaft mounted in said plates and extending out through the forward end of the body and carrying a pinion between said plates with which said gear wheel engages, foldable fan blades mounted upon the shaft, and a friction clutch between said first named shaft and the gear wheel loose thereon operative to afford a driving connection between the shafts upon an inward movement of said stem but releasing said driving connection upon an outward movement of the stem.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

HEINRICH G. HERION. 

